VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA—Creo reports it has acquired a US-based printing-plate manufacturing facility from Spectratech International. The acquisition includes the Middleway, WV, plant, its current business, land, manufacturing equipment, and storage facilities.

The assets are costing the Canadian-based software and prepress equipment manufacturer approximately $13.3 million (US); Creo adds it is also buying an additional $6 million (US) in working captial. The company says it expects the acquisition will be accretive to earnings by the end of this calendar year.

With the acquired plate techology, Creo says it will introduce two negative thermal plates: Mirus PN for the packaging and commercial printing markets as well as Fortis PN for the newspaper printing market.

Says Creo CEO Amos Michelson, "The Mirus thermal plate for packaging and commercial printers is a high resolution, very long-run thermal plate suitable for use with UV inks."

Adds Eyal Shpilber, Creo's corporate VP of thermal consumables, "With the acquisition of this US-based manufacturing facility, Creo more than doubles our wholly owned manufacturing capacity and secures an ideal location for the distribution, logistics, and support of our customers in the US and around the world. An important part of this transaction is the addition of people with years of experience in producing, selling, and supporting high-quality plates."

Creo is listing the following technical specs for its newly introduced Mirus PN:

high-resolution, negative working

UV (ultraviolet) and IR (infrared) sensitive

long run: 250,000 impressions unbaked,and up to one million impressions post-baked

qualified for Staccato 10 screening

scratch resistant

stable shelf life

sizes up to 50 in. x 82 in. (1498 x 2082 mm)

More information about the Mirus and Fortis plates can be found at creo.com/plates.